‘The Sauce’ returns to occupy the airwaves

After a one-semester hiatus, “The Sauce,” the morning show on this college’s radio station KSYM 90.1-FM, has returned to its original 7 a.m.-9 a.m. Monday-Friday time slot.

James “Hot Mustard” Velten, creator of “The Sauce,” said he decided to stay at this college to work toward another associate degree but is still undecided.

Velten graduated in May as a distinguished graduate in the radio-television-broadcasting program.

Michelle “T.A.” Marin will serve as co-host.

In the fall, Velten co-hosted “The Sandwich” with Robert “Cold Turkey” Purkey.

The show ended in December when Purkey graduated.

“The Sauce” premiered May 11, 2009, after Velten submitted a proposal to general manager John Onderdonk, radio-television-broadcasting professor, for a COMM 1335, Survey of Radio and Television, class.

Velten said he always thought about doing a morning show and in 2009, the station did not have one.

“There was no morning show. There was nobody on five days a week. There was no unified voice,” he said.

Velten said the show originally played alternative music before it transitioned to a blues format.

“We decided to switch to a blues format because at the time, we only had a show that played blues for like two hours,” he said. “So I thought it was a neglected format of music.”

Velten said he also noticed when local acts like Los Number 3 Dinners or Texas Tornados were aired on the station, more listeners would call in.

He said for this semester, he has added 20 hours of blues music.

“The Sauce” offers a weekly platform for The Ranger on Monday, Student Government Association on Tuesday and “Speaking of SAC” with President Robert Zeigler on Thursday.

It also serves as a platform for local charities and organizations promoting their message.

“The best part about it (hosting a morning show) is getting involved with the college, different clubs and organizations, getting involved with different organizations in the community, other nonprofits, and helping people get their word out because they wouldn’t have an outlet on regular commercial radio,” he said.

Velten said since the show returned Jan. 22, the first day of spring classes, listeners have called with a lot of positive feedback.

“We have received a lot of calls,” he said. “A lot of calls saying, ‘Oh, I’m so glad your back,’ ‘Welcome back,’ ‘Love the new music.’ All I’ve heard is a lot of positive feedback so I’d like to think that I’m doing something right.”

Velten said “The Sauce” is different from other mainstream morning shows because listeners can relate more with the disk jockeys.

“Me and my co-host don’t get paid to do the show, and we have regular jobs so I think listeners can identify with us on the fact that we are real people,” he said.

“We’re not superstars. We’re not rock stars. We don’t try to be. I think they can identify with us on that level and people like listening to my gas station stories.”